AriCatZero



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  1. Public Bookmark 19

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    “Will arrive at Erid in three months. Rocky get smartest Eridians to make food for human grace and help alien wake up.” Rocky says with a little more hope and incline in his voice, causing the edge of my lips to curl upwards slightly.

    Rocky always does his best to say what he thinks I need to hear, and, for the most part, he isn't too far from the mark.

    “Yeah…Everything will be okay” I respond, and hope that it's true.

    -

    Grace and Rocky have made it through a bulk of their trip to Erid. In their travels, the two discover a man in the middle of dead space- tethered to nothing, with no oxygen tank and yet alive all the same.

    Simon has been in a coma on the Hail Mary for three months now, and Grace is trying to stay sane.

    Language:
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    Chapters:
    4/11
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    83
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    27 Jun 2026

  2. Public Bookmark *

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    My pride stings a little at being so underestimated by a species that couldn’t even outrun a particularly determined turtle if their life depended on it. Look, I’m no Sha’Carri Richardson, but I’m pretty proud of my seven-minute mile. I worked hard for it. I haven’t been able to handle myself like this since I was... well, since I left Earth.

    “Y’know what? Let’s settle this once and for all. I could use an endurance test anyway. Good for my cardio.”

    Dr. Bones perks up. “You’ll do a demonstration?”

    “Absolutely. Give me two rest days and a warmup, then I’ll show you what the average human athlete can do.”

    -----

    AKA, Grace doesn't consider himself much of an athlete, but he's no slouch either. And he's got the physical prowess of his whole species to represent!

    The xenobiology team, on the other hand, is horrified to learn what a 'persistence hunter' is.

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    6,023
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    1/1
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    27 Jun 2026

  3. Public Bookmark 92

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    The rest of Rocky's bulky little carapece situates itself in the curl of my body. I complain about his sharp edges just to annoy him. He stands his ground.

    He's not sharp: the suit takes care of that. I am.

    There's a little groove in my 8th rib on the left side I never noticed before. Now that the fat's gone, I can feel it. It's shaped like the concave slope of a red blood cell, and reminds me of a gravity well.

    Grace is a little tired.

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    1,907
    Chapters:
    1/1
    Comments:
    34
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    767
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    27 Jun 2026

  4. Public Bookmark *

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    Grace is allergic to many airborne things. Rocky disapproves.

    They also both suck at informative video-making. But that's fine — it's not like these are going up on Youtube for the entire planet to see or anything.

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    English
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    1,608
    Chapters:
    1/1
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    982
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    26 Jun 2026

  5. Public Bookmark *

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    I lived with this hunger long before the Hail Mary. This is nothing new. I’m fine.

    Right up until Rocky asks another question.

    “When last time you touch other human person skin, question?”

    Oh. Oh no. “When I… a few days after I first woke up here.”

    Rocky starts to relax for a split second, but then tightens when something occurs to him.

    “Grace crewmates dead when you wake up. You said this, statement. You not even know your own name, remember nothing, see dead bodies, confirm?”

    I nod, because if I open my mouth I will gag.

    “When last time Grace touch ALIVE human person, question.”

    I swallow thickly. I don’t answer aloud because I know Rocky can hear the hitch in my breath. My stomach churns with fresh bile. He senses my vital signs tick over into stress patterns and goes very, very still again.

    “Grace. When last time, question.”

    I clench my jaw so hard my temples ache, and beg him with my eyes to just stop.

    “Grace. Please say not when… when Evil Stratt humans put you to sleep.”

    I can taste grass.

    ---

    AKA: Grace starves for more than just food on the journey to Erid.

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    55,343
    Chapters:
    4/4
    Comments:
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    26 Jun 2026